Case of Successful Sympathetic Nerve Modulation by Targeted Heavy Ion Radiotherapy for Idiopathic Ventricular Tachycardia

Abstract

Non-invasive radioablation using stereotactic body radiation therapy with X-ray has been proposed as a rescue treatment for refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT). However, there are concerns about the occurrence of late valvular or coronary disease. We treated VT originating from the aortic sinus cusp using the Bragg peak principle of a heavy ion beam, minimizing the dose to the aortic valve and coronary artery and providing an anti-arrhythmic effect and cardiac function recovery due to improved sympathetic nerve heterogeneity. We present a method for targeting sympathetic nerve distribution using ¹²³I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy.

Keywords: 123I‐metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy; arrhythmia radioablation; non‐invasive irradiation technique; sympathetic denervation; targeted heavy ion radiotherapy; ventricular arrhythmia.